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Bible chapter guide
John 2
At a wedding in Cana Jesus turns water into wine, the first of his signs. Going up to Jerusalem for the Passover, he drives the money changers out of the temple and says, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up,' speaking of his body.
Summary written for the Labs; read the chapter itself for the full text.
See it in the Labs
- Temples Side by SideTemples Side by SideOpen
- The Temple MountThe Temple MountOpen
- verse/john-2-19John 2:19Open
- The Bible Time MapHerod the Great · The Bible Time MapOpen
- adventAdvent week 4: Magi · The road to BethlehemOpen
- Jerusalem Through the AgesHerod's Jerusalem · Jerusalem Through the AgesOpen
- Jerusalem Through the AgesHerod's Temple · Jerusalem Through the AgesOpen
- Temples Side by SideHerod's Temple · Temples Side by SideOpen
- Temples Side by SideStacked on one spot · Temples Side by SideOpen
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How sure can we be?
- Textually stated
John says Jesus was speaking of the temple of his body.
Stated in John 2:21–22.
- Strongly supported
Herod's Temple stood on the platform now called the Temple Mount or Haram al-Sharif.
Herod began rebuilding in about 20/19 BC, and his retaining walls survive. 'Forty and six years' of building (John 2:20) fits a date around AD 27.
- Strongly supported
John 2:20 says it had been building for 46 years; Jesus foretold that no stone would be left on another. Its plan comes from Josephus (War 5.184–237) and the Mishnah tractate Middot.
- Plausible
Cana was at Khirbet Qana, about 13 km north of Nazareth.
The Arabic name keeps 'Qana'; Josephus stayed at a Cana near the plain of Asochis (Beth Netofa), and the excavated pilgrim cave shows the site was honoured as Cana for centuries.
- Plausible
Which day, and how many times?: Mark says Jesus only looked around the temple on the evening of the entry and cleansed it the next day; Matthew and Luke tell the cleansing straight after the entry, without marking a new day. John tells a cleansing near the start of Jesus' ministry. Many readers see Matthew and Luke as shortening the sequence; for John, some see a second, earlier cleansing and others a story placed by theme.
- Plausible
Jesus cleansed the temple twice: early (John 2) and in his last week (Mark 11).
The settings differ in time and detail (John has the whip of cords and the 'three days' saying), and nothing rules out a repeated act.